Kansas City gets pair of defensive touchdowns to ward off upset-minded Bills, 23-13

Sunday

Nov 3, 2013 at 9:50 PMNov 3, 2013 at 9:50 PM

By Paul A. JannaceWellsville Daily Reporter

ORCHARD PARK — The Kansas City Chiefs got an offensive boost from its defense and remained undefeated.Sean Smith’s 100-yard interception return and Tamba Hali’s 11-yard fumble return for a touchdown rallied the Chiefs to a 23-13 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.The Bills led 10-3 at halftime, but Smith picked off a Jeff Tuel pass in the end zone and high-stepped in for the score to tie the game. Then, Hali picked up a T.J. Graham fumble and gave Kansas City (9-0) the lead for good.“When it’s time to make the plays you have to make the plays and we didn’t do that,” said Bills head coach Doug Marrone. “It hurts because we’ve got great fans, great people, guys plays hard. We work hard as coaches and you get on that field and this one hurts.”Tuel, the first undrafted quarterback to start for the Bills, nearly had the team in position to take a 14-point lead early in the third quarter. C.J. Spiller’s 62-yard run on the first play of the third quarter and a pass interference call in the end zone set the Bills up with 1st-and-goal on the 1. However, two failed runs and then Tuel’s second interception of the game turned the Bills’ fortunes on a chilly but sunny afternoon.“It’s 100 percent my fault,” said Tuel. “It’s something I’ve got to see. I can’t do that. We’ve got to finish with a kick no matter what, whether it’s an extra point or a touchdown or field goal. So it’s 100 percent one me.”For Smith, a five-year NFL veteran in his first season with the Chiefs, it was his first career touchdown.“Do you know how long 100 yards is in the cold?” said Smith. “I just appreciate my guys sticking with me throughout the entire play and just showing me the way.“It was like Christmas,” added Smith. “You know, you go downstairs as a little kid and there’s a big box right there. That’s how I felt.”Buffalo (3-6) rushed for a season-high 241 yards and held the Chiefs to only 219 total yards of offense. But the Chiefs turned three Buffalo turnovers into 17 points.“Turnovers. It always come down to that first,” said Marrone.Tuel, the third different quarterback to start for the Bills this season, connected with Marquise Goodwin on a 59-yard touchdown on his seventh pass attempt of the game to make it 7-0.Spiller finished with 116 yards on 12 carries and Fred Jackson rushed for 77 yards on 16 carries for Buffalo, which has lost four of its last five.“I don’t get caught up in the stats,” said Spiller. “It’s a great day to run the ball as well as we did today against a good team. They’re 9-0 for a reason. At the end of the day, we still lost and that’s all that matters.”Tuel finished 18 of 39 for 229 yards in his first NFL start. Tuel’s only other NFL action came after relieving an injured E.J. Manuel in Cleveland on Oct. 3.“If I put a guy out there, it’s my responsibility to put a guy out there that can win,” said Marrone. “Did Jeff play well enough for us to win? At times. At times he didn’t. I think you could say that about a lot of people.”Manuel has missed the last four games with a knee injury. Thad Lewis had started the previous three games before a rib injury suffered at New Orleans on Oct. 27 kept him out of Sunday’s game.Jamaal Charles ran 17 times for 90 yards and Alex Smith completed 19 of 29 passes for 124 yards for the Chiefs, who are 9-0 for the first time since 2003.“Every win you get in the National Football League is a good win,” said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. “We’re not going to make excuses for it.”Ryan Succop’s 41-yard field goal gave Kansas City its first lead with under four minutes left in the third quarter. The Bills tied it on Dan Carpenter’s 30-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.On the sixth play of the fourth quarter and the Bills facing a third-and-10 from their own 13, Tuel connected with Graham over the middle for three yards. Rookie cornerback Marcus Cooper forced the Graham fumble and Hali scooped it up for his second career touchdown — both coming this season.“We never panic, not even for a second,” said Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis, who had a second-quarter interception to set up a field goal. “We always go in knowing that someone on our defense is going to make a play.”The Bills never got past midfield again until a 13-yard completion to Stevie Johnson with 1:47 left.Kansas City now has its bye week to prepare for a showdown at Denver on Nov. 17. The Bills head to Pittsburgh on Sunday and host the New York Jets on Nov. 17 before their Week 12 bye.Notebook: Bills rookie LB Kiko Alonso had eight tackles and a sack … The Penn State Marching Band performed on the field before the game … Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe had a game-high seven catches for 67 yards … Charles also had six catches, but for only six yards … Bills WR Robert Woods left the game in the third quarter with a leg injury … Hali’s fumble recovery is Kansas City’s NFL-leading fifth defensive touchdown of the season … The Bills announced the attendance as 68,159